Computational Thinking Meets Student Learning: Extending the ISTE Standards

By Kiki Prottsman

This guide to the ISTE Standards for Educators: Computational Thinking Competencies will help educators incorporate CT in their curriculum to deepen student learning.

Computational thinking (CT) is a powerful ingredient for solving ambiguous, complex and open-ended problems by drawing on principles and practices central to computer science (CS). CT is at the core of CS and is a gateway to sparking student interest and confidence in learning CS.

The ISTE Standards for Educators: Computational Thinking Competencies were created to inspire every educator to add more computational thinking into their core problem-solving strategies. These competencies augment and home in on the competencies embedded in the ISTE Standards for Students and Educators.

The information in this guide will provide a framework and structure to build creative learning opportunities in CT and increase students’ ability to adapt to unfamiliar challenges, allowing for more success with innovative lesson plans.

This booklet contains:

• An overview of computer science and computational thinking and how they interact.
• Examples from across the subject/grade spectrum, including kindergarten reading, third grade math, sixth grade science and 10th grade social studies.
• Ideas for adding CT to lessons to enhance the knowledge base of students, letting them build the skills and confidence to persist when unexpected obstacles arise.
• Reflection questions and tips to help educators integrate CT into their lessons.
• Explanation of how the CT competencies complement the ISTE Standards for Educators.

This booklet will help educators understand the CT Competencies so they can effectively build CT into their curriculum, no matter what subject they teach.

Audience: K-12 educators

• Language: English
• Publisher: International Society for Technology in Education
• Release date: Jan 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781564847591

Kiki Prottsman

Kiki Prottsman is a computer science educator, as well as the author of several books, including Computational Thinking and Coding for Every Student, My First Coding Book, How to Be a Coder, and Disney's Coding with Anna and Elsa. In her spare time, Kiki runs an educational YouTube channel called KIKIvsIT, which helped her win silver in the coveted 2017 Female Innovator of the Year Awards.

Book preview

Introduction

Audience and Intention

The ISTE Standards for Educators: Computational Thinking Competencies (CT Competencies) were created to inspire every educator to add more computational thinking (CT) into their core problem-solving strategies. While this resource was designed for educators, adding CT to lessons can also build students’ skills and confidence in solving complex problems using computation, persisting when unexpected obstacles arise in their learning and deepening their learning in academic disciplines. Don’t worry if you aren’t sure you know what computational thinking is and how we use it every day—we’ll get to that soon!

Many educators are already doing powerful work to integrate CT across disciplines to help students learn, use and apply computer science (CS) concepts and CT practices in different contexts. ISTE seeks to help educators recognize where this work is already happening, identify opportunities to make these connections more explicit and develop new ways to deepen student learning.

The competencies in this guide are not intended to limit classroom practices nor encourage conformity among subjects. On the contrary, the benchmarks that we introduce in this booklet provide a framework and structure to build more creative learning opportunities. We believe that increasing exposure to CT in the classroom will also increase students’ ability to adapt to unfamiliar challenges, allowing for more success with innovative lesson plans.

Even if you are not already familiar with the format of ISTE Standards for Educators, this booklet will help prepare you to digest the CT Competencies in a way that allows you to visualize using them in your classroom, no matter what subject you teach.

Computer Science and Computational Thinking Explained

The CT Competencies from ISTE are part of a larger picture of preparing all students for success in a world where computing power underpins every aspect of the systems we encounter in our daily lives. They are meant to complement other CS learning frameworks, such as the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K–12 Computer Science Standards and the K–12 CS Framework. Helping educators understand what computer science and computational thinking are, how they interact and why they matter across disciplines is the foundation of this booklet.

What Is Computer Science?

In a world increasingly influenced by technology, computer science can serve as a tool for learning and expression across disciplines. Vital foundations of CS are now being